Apparatus for rendering drawings and documents transparent and waterproof.



N0. 808,901. PATENTED JAN. 2, 1906. O. L. GRABB. APPARATUS FOR RENDERINGDRAWINGS AND DOCUMENTS TRANSPARENT AND WATERPROOF.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.6,1905.

'lhveniorr{ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES LOUIS CRABB, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR RENDERING DRAWINGS AND DOCUMENTS TRANSPARENT ANDWATERPROOF.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1906.

Application filed April 6, 1905. Serial No. 254,171..

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES LOUIS CRABB, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the city and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus forRendering Drawings and Documents Transparent and W aterproof, of whichthe following is a specification'.

The object of this invention is to render drawingpaper or similarmaterial permanently transparent and waterproof after drawings orwritings have been made thereon and to render indelible such drawings orwritings when made with lead-pencil or other ordinarily erasable drawingor writing material.

The process consists in passing the sheets of drawing or documents to berendered permanently transparent, waterproof, and indelible through ahot solution having for its body paraffin or other suitable transparentand wa terproof material and while they remain heated and coated andsaturated with said solution subjecting them to a calendering operation.

The apparatus which constitutes the invention consists in thecombinations hereinafter described and claimed, in which the principalelements are a bath in which the treating solution is contained andheated, a heated calendering-chamber in communication with said bath andcontaining calender-rollers, and a sheet-carrier for carrying the sheetsto be treated first through the bath and afterward through thecalendering-chamber and delivering them in a finished condition.

The apparatus is represented in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 represents a plan with the cover of the calendering-chamberremoved and the carrier in section; Fig. 2, a longitudinal verticalsection in the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a transverse vertical sectionof the calenderingchamber in the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a verticalsection of the calendering-chamber in the line 1 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, alongitudinal vertical section of the upper portion of the sheet-carrierand the cover of the calenderingchamber; Fig. 6, a side view of thetensionadjusting device for the sheet-carrier; Fig. 7, a plan view of aspreader applied to the sheetcarrier.

10 designates the bath, and 11 the calendering-chamber, represented ascomposed of a single casting, but separated by curtain-like partition12,which extends downward to within a short distance from the bottom ofthe bath. The chamber 11 is represented as having a removable cover 11*.

13 13 are the calendering-rollers, of highlypolished metal, having theirjournal-boxes 14 horizontally adjustable in slides 15 16, which aresecured to the bottom of the calenderingchamber by screws 17. Theseslides, one on each side of the chamber, consist each of a base 15 and acap-plate 16, secured thereon by screws 18. Between the several journal--boxes in each slide there are coil-springs 19,

exerting a constant tendency to separate the rollers, and'between theboxes of the front and rear rollers and the ends of the slides there arecoil-springs 20, the said springs being kept in place by concaveprojections 21 on the boxes and on the ends of the slides. Through eachend of each slide there is screwed a screw 23, serving to exert andadjust pressure on the rollers to bring them more or less close to eachother, according to the thickness of the paper or material to becalendered and the calendering-pressure required. These screws passfreely through holes provided for them in the ends of the chamber.

24: 24:.designate the sheet-carrier consisting of two members eachcomposed of a pair of narrow flexible endless metal bands arranged onepair or member at each side of the apparatus and the two bands of eachpair or member lapping and adapted to run one outside of the other inone of twogrooves 25, formed in the calendering-rollers near the endsthereof. The said bands are carried by rollers 26 27, arranged inbearings above the bath and the calendering-chamber,and rollers 28 29 inbearings on the bottom of the bath, and they run from the bath under thepartition 12 into the calendering-chamber and over, under, and betweenthe calendering-rollers, thence through an opening in the cover of thechamber to and over the roller 27 For making the tension of the bandsself-adjusting the said roller 27 is carried by slides 30, running inslideways 31 on the top of the chamber-cover 11*, and is connected by apulling spring 32 with a lug 33 on said cover. The roller 26 is made toconstitute a feed-roller by being furnished with pin-like teeth whichenter holes 33*, provided for them in the bands. The said roller 26 isrepresented as furnished with a handcrank 34 for the purpose of turningit to move the carrier through the bath and the calendering-chamber.

About midway between the rollers 26 27 there is arranged a spreaderwhich is common to the two members of the carrier and which isrepresented as consisting of two parallel rods 35, running across andbetween the two bands of both carrier members and carried by two smallplates 36, on which are journals 37, running in boxes 37 on the top ofthe chamber. On one of thesejonrnals is a small handlever 38 by which toturn the spreader to the position shown in Fig. 2, in which the rods 35are side by side between the bands, and so allow those parts of eachpair which are above the bath and above the calendering-chamber to comenear enough together, as shown in Fig.2, to take a sheet or to theposition shown in Fig. 5, by which a greater separation is producedbetween those parts of the bands to permit the introduction and removalof the sheet. On each of the said journals 37 there is a small toothedsector or pinion 39, which engages, as shown in Fig. 6, with a toothedrack 40 on the roller-slide 30 at the corresponding side of theapparatus. When the spreader is turned to the position shown in Fig. 5to spread the bands, the slides 30 and roller 27 are drawn toward theroller 26 sufliciently to compensate for the spreading.

The bath'and the calendering-chamber may be separately heated by anysuitable means. For this purpose in the example represented there aregas-burners 41 42, one under the bath, another under the chamber.

For carrying out the process any transparent Waterproof liquid orsolution not volatile at atmospheric temperature may be used; but What Ihave used successfully and at present prefer is a solution of paraffinin alcohol in the proportion of about twelve parts, by weight, ofparaffin to one part of alcohol.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The bath being filled withthe solution to a suitable depth and both it and the calenderingchamberbeing heated to a sufficient degree the bands of the two members of thecarrier are spread apart, as shown in Fig. 5, and a sheet to be treatedis introduced between those parts of them which are between the spreaderand the feed-roller 26. The spreader is then turned to the positionshown in Fig. 2 to let the bands of the carrier come nearer together,and the carrier is set in motion by turning the crank 34 to carry thesheet down into the bath and slowly through the solution therein, andthence coated and saturated with the solution, through thecalendering-chamber on and between the calendering-rollers 13, which areset in motion by the carrier-bands running on them. From thecalenderingchamber the coated, saturated, and calendered sheet iscarried upward until it arrives in the carrier at a position between theroller 27 and the spreader, when the movement of the carrier is stoppedand the spreader is turned to sepaprints may be taken from them as fromsuch tracings. This does away with the expensive work of inking in thepencil-drawing or making tracings therefrom.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In an apparatus for treating drawingsand documents, the combination of a bath, a heat ing-chamber andcalendering-rollers therein, and a sheet-carrier for passing sheetsthrough said bath and thence through said chamber and between saidrollers.

2. In an apparatus for treating drawings and documents, the combinationof a bath, a heating-chamber and calendering-rollers therein, andendless bands which serve the two purposes of carrying sheets throughsaid bath and chamber in contact with said rollers and driving saidrollers.

3. In a calendering-chamber, the combination with calendering rollersand journalboxes therefor, of slides containing the severaljournal-boxes, springs within said slides between said boxes and screwsscrewing through said slides for the adjustment of said boxes and therollers therein.

4L. In an apparatus for treating sheets of paper or other material, thecombination of a bath, a heating-chamber and calendering-rollerstherein, a sheet-carrier composed of endless bands in lapping pairsrunning through said bath and chamber and on said rollers, and aseparating-spreader applied between the bands of each pair.

5. In an apparatus for treating sheets of paper or other material, thecombination of a bath, a heating-chamber and calendering-rollerstherein, a sheet-carrier composed of endless bands in lapping pairsrunning through said bath and chamber and on said rollers, a spreaderapplied between the bands of said carrier, a spring-actuatedtension-roller applied to said carrier, a slide carrying saidtension-roller, and gearing between said slide and the spreader forsimultaneously adjusting said roller and the spreader.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of two witnesses, this 3d day of April,

CHAS. LOUIS CRABB. WVitnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, HENRY THIEME.

